Tuesday, November 21, 2006

The Northern Marianas Academy, a private school in the Commonwealth, topped this year's CNMI Recycles Day competition.

Division of Environmental Quality Waste Reduction and Recycling coordinator Tina Sablan said the school collected a total of 50,380 lbs of recyclable materials. There were 34 NMA students who participated in the contest, bringing in 1,481.8 lbs of trash per student.

Eucon International School ranked second, with a total of 22,459 lbs of recyclable materials. This means the109 students who participated brought in an average of 206 lbs of trash.

Public school Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School placed third after each of its 221 student brought in 166.7 lbs of trash for a total of 36,837 lbs.

San Antonio Elementary School ended up with 115.6 lbs per 239 participating students for an overall total of 38,020 lbs.

Grace Christian Academy ranked fifth with 75 lbs per student (total of 360 students). The private school accumulated a total of 27,220 lbs of trash.

Saipan International School, William S. Reyes Elementary School and Koblerville Elementary School followed the ranking with 63.9 lbs, 36.7 lbs, and 33.3 lbs per student respectively.

There were 24 private and public schools that participated in this year's Recycles Day competition.

Sablan said the competition based its scores on the recyclable wastes gathered by each student that participated in the competition.

The Beautify CNMI!, in collaboration with the DEQ and the Department of Public Works Solid Waste Management, held the culminating activity for the CNMI Recycles Day on Saturday at the Lower Base Transfer Station.

The event celebrated the “phenomenal effort of schools, families, and businesses in the CNMI whose combined efforts during the two-month contest resulted in the collection of over 200,000 lbs of recyclable cardboard, paper, glass, plastic, and metals.”

The 200,000 lbs of materials can now be processed and converted into useful products, said Sablan, instead of dumping them all into the CNMI landfill.

PIC's Elly Stoilova also put up a booth with two other organizations showcasing environmental awareness. Stoilova showcased arts and crafts made of recyclable materials found in the CNMI.